First Ever Anti Crime Summit Held in Jackson

By
Cyndi Lundeberg
By
Clundeberg@wbbjtv.com

JACKSON, Tenn. - Hundreds of residents flooded the Jackson Fairgrounds for the first ever Anti-Crime Summit put on by the Code Red Coalition.

The goal, according to organizers, is to save lives of victims and to keep others from a life behind bars.

U.S. Attorney Edward Stanton spoke at the event, encouraging those in the community to reach out to those headed down a criminal path.

"I think the underlying message is working together and understanding law enforcement cannot do it alone," Stanton said.

The event says the main goal is to combat and lessen crime in Jackson-Madison County communities through outreach, not avoiding areas that may be prone to crime.

Pastor Larry Mercer helped organize the event and says the community's attendance at the event is inspiring.

"Look, we want to come together to address the problem and deal with it the best we can," Mercer said.

Attorney Stanton was the event speaker and led the crowd through a multitude of topics geared at preventing crime. Stanton says the key is getting African-American communities to work alongside law enforcement. He says together they can make a difference in crime rates.

"It is going to take stakeholders like the hundreds of individuals that were here tonight to say 'hey we're tired of this issue and we're going to take our communities back one neighborhood, one block at a time'," he said.

Organizers say Jackson acknowledging there is a problem and coming together is the first step to getting, and keeping, local youth on the right track which they say will make everyone more safe.

"We know we're not going to solve everything in one sitting. But to see the community has the same heart and say we need to come together to solve a situation like this, well we can come together and address the problem and deal with it the best we can!" Mercer said.

Organizers say the success of the event will hopefully lead to more discussions and more active outreach in solving the problem of crime in communities.